Judge Orders Brazil’s Ex-President ‘Lula’ to Begin Prison Term on Friday

A federal judge on Thursday ordered former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil to surrender to the authorities by Friday afternoon to start serving a 12-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction. The warrant was issued hours after the country’s top court rejected Mr. da Silva’s bid to remain free while appeals of the conviction were considered. A federal judge, Sérgio Moro, wrote in the arrest warrant that Mr. da Silva would be held in a special cell, outside of the general prison population, in consideration of the “dignity of the office he held.” Mr. da Silva will be allowed to surrender to the federal police in the southern city of Curitiba, where his trial was held, Judge Moro said. He set Friday at 5 p.m. as the deadline. More…